LIFE.com: The Worst Accents in Movie History

Kevin Costner: Robin Hood by Way of Orange County

In "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), SoCal boy Costner was roundly derided for seeming to attempt a vaguely English accent at the beginning of the film only to give up and just go with his normal "Field of Dreams" drawl before heading to Sherwood Forest. (MANOOCHER DEGHATI/AFP/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

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In "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), SoCal boy Costner was roundly derided for seeming to attempt a vaguely English accent at the beginning of the film only to give up and just go with his normal "Field of Dreams" drawl before heading to Sherwood Forest. (MANOOCHER DEGHATI/AFP/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

In 1998's "Rounders," John Malkovich plays a deadly Russian mobster who runs an underground poker game. But instead of coming off as intimidating as his character's nickname, KGB, Malkovich sounds more like "Rocky and Bullwinkle's" "Boris Badenov with a cold," according to one observer. (Dave Allocca./Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

It was a fairy-tale movie, but when it came to Drew Barrymore's English accent, 1998's "Ever After" was more like a cautionary tale. Also, the movie was set in France! (Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

In "Mary Reilly," the 1996 take on the Jekyll and Hyde story, Julia Roberts is the title character, a lowly Irish servant in the household of Dr. Jekyll (John Malkovich). The movie was a critical and box-office bomb, with many singling out the Georgia native's awful accent as a particular sore point. She "won" a Razzie nomination for her performance. (Dave Benett/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson may have long resumes as leading men in Hollywood blockbusters, but their supposedly Russian accents in 2002's "K-19: The Widowmaker" left audiences wondering whether the implied deceased husband in the title happened to be the film's speech coach. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

Despite his inability to handle accents, Keanu Reeves continues to get work playing god-like characters. In 1993's "Little Buddha," he plays Siddharta Gautama, the Hindu prince who achieves enlightenment and becomes Buddha. Indian activists were upset that a skin-darkened Reeves, who is mostly of English descent (but also part Chinese and Hawaiian), was cast as an Indian prince — but pretty much everyone was upset by the fact that he actually got speaking lines. (Richard Blanshard/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

In 1997, Reeves struck yet again when he made the South relive the horrors of Sherman's march to the sea in accent form as he aped the dulcet tones of Dixie in the egregiously cheesy lawyer-turned-demon flick "Devil's Advocate." (Ron Galella/WireImage/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures

Orson Welles's 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil" is rightfully considered a classic, but only the most dedicated fans don't cringe when Charlton "Planet of the Apes" Heston declaims his way through his lines in the role of a Mexican drug-enforcement official. His miscasting is even the butt of a joke in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood," where Welles complains, "Tell me about it. I'm supposed to direct a thriller for Universal. They want Charlton Heston to play a Mexican!" (Universal Pictures/Getty Images/LIFE.com) Visit LIFE: Your World in Pictures